1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a method and apparatus for making food products such as tamales. More particularly the invention pertains to a template apparatus for forming and shaping the tamale masa type dough together with a spreading tool for evenly and uniformly spreading the dough within the template and removing excess dough along with dough or masa compositions for use with the present method and apparatus. The dough compositions utilized in accordance with the present method have a controlled bulk density to assist in the rapid and uniform formation of food products. The novel method and tamale apparatus include the utilization of a template of a predetermined thickness which anchors a corn husk down in a planer format and exposes an area of the corn husk to allow masa or a dough composition to be added to the corn husk and spread with the spreading tool of the novel apparatus. The invention contemplates the utilization of a dough composition of a controlled consistency in combination with the template and a scraper tool to form the dough composition into a predetermined shape before the removal of the template and the addition of the remaining tamale ingredients. The tamale is subsequently wrapped in the corn husk followed by cooking, freezing or packaging of the tamale to provide a food product of a more uniform shape and consistency and better taste when dough compositions are utilized in accordance with the invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of methods are available in the prior art for making tamales as Well as various tamale making devices all of which have heretofore to a great extent relied upon the skill of the food preparer. The basic rudimentary methods and procedures for making tamales have been around for centuries and generally consist of utilizing corn husks as the outermost wrapper for a layer of dough which may be flour or corn and which is smeared inside the corn husk. The dough is then covered with meat, potatoes, salsa and other desired filler ingredients for tamales. The corn husk as is known by those skilled in the art is of a tubular configuration which seeks to return to its tubular shaped configuration and which must be flattened or carefully held while dough is added to the tamale wrapper before placing optional filler ingredients and sauces on the dough and then wrapping the dough and optional filler ingredients inside the corn husk.
The prior art methods have not controlled the consistency of the dough in the formation of tamales but instead have utilized doughs or masas of varying consistencies as may be made by the person preparing the tamale. These doughs of varying consistencies have generally been placed by hand onto the corn husk for the subsequent addition of the tamale core filler materials such as meats, vegetables, chili sauce, salsa and the like.
The prior art methods and apparatus have heretofore not controlled the consistency of the dough in relation to a tamale apparatus and have not been designed to provide uniform and easily made tamales required for current restaurants and fast food preparation restaurants since prior art methods have been labor intensive and primarily rely upon the skill of the tamale maker to make the dough of a particular consistency and properly size and shape the dough and wrap the tamale in the corn husk.
In order to provide a more uniform and consistent tamale food product various forms of tamale making devices have been proposed such as have been described in Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670. In Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670 a tamale making method and apparatus is provided for layering the tamale on foils, filter papers and the like and then employing movable frames to spread the food materials over the filter paper or foils that are placed on a support. A frame template is swung over the base and a quantity of masa or dough is spread within the confines of the template followed by a layer of chili sauce, tamale core food and other optional ingredients are added before the frame is raised to an open position and the foil sheet is rolled over the layers of masa and tamale core food mixture.
Unlike the invention Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670 does not employ a masa or dough of a controlled consistency as a basis for creating tamales of a uniform consistency. Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670 furthermore does not employ a scraper tool, a template specifically designed to shape the tamale dough into a particular shape and thickness before the removal of the template and the addition of the tamale core mixture ingredients. Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670 unlike the invention does not utilize the template to establish a uniform thickness of the tamale dough for the formation of the tamale nor does Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670 utilize a special dough consistency composition material for the formation of tamales.
Valdastri, U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,993 pertains to a method and apparatus for making ravioli in which a layer of dough is placed over a template, filling is added and a top layer of dough is placed over the apparatus before a roller or scraper type device is utilized to cut the ravioli from the individual forming elements in the ravioli apparatus template. Valdastri and Rodriguez U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,687,670 unlike the invention does not provide a template for forming the thickness of the dough nor does it provide a method fop providing a uniform consistency of the dough as a means for providing a more uniform end product. Both Rodriguez U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,670 and Valdastri U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,993 do not recognize the importance of the consistency of the masa in assisting in the formation of a uniform tamale product. In Valdastri U.S. Pat. No. 2,386,993 like Rodriguez the thickness of the dough depends upon the skill of the operator in rolling and forming the masa or dough before it is layered on the template. The invention in contrast controls not only the size, shape and thickness but also the consistency of the dough or masa to provide a more uniform product that is desired for restaurant and fast food operations which prefer not to rely on the skill of the food preparer.
Various other prior art including Gotti, U.S. Pat. No. 3,026,822 and Van Horn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,091 provide various types of apparatus for providing shells or templates for making food pastries. These apparatus and devices including the Van Horn U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,091 do not specifically address the problem of controlling the consistency of the dough and the anchoring of the layers to prevent the lateral movement of the components in relation to a corn or tamale wrapper which corn wrapper also exhibits a tendency to roll. These characteristics of tamale food products requires an apparatus for maintaining the dough in relation to the wrapping material and controlling the thickness and consistency of the dough material to provide a more uniform tamale which can be utilized in high speed tamale making operations which provide a more uniform tamale product. The prior art apparatus and methods have not been specifically designed to control the thickness of the dough and the positioning of the dough with respect to a tamale corn husk or wrapper which traditionally seeks to return to its circular configuration. As a result many prior art methods and apparatus have substituted papers and foils for corn husks as a means for avoiding the problem of corn husk rolling at the sacrifice of tamales with natural corn husks which are of a preferred taste. The prior art has also not provided a dough composition of controlled consistency that is particularly amenable to the novel tamale maker apparatus for providing a uniform and consistent tamale product.